Numbers supposedly don’t lie.Well, in the case of the University of Northern Colorado football team, maybe they do.Junior linebacker Luke Nelson would like to think so.In fact, Nelson exudes confidence as the Bears attempt to win their first game of the season at 2 p.m. today when they play host to Sacramento State at Nottingham Field.Nelson, a 6-foot, 230-pounder, has more than enough reasons to feel good – he’s second on the team in tackles with 19 and anxious for the UNC defense to put up numbers that parallel how it’s advertised: new and improved.”There’s a couple of things that need ironed out, but as a whole the defense is right on track,” the affable Nelson said. “We really feel confident going into this week.”Nelson’s confidence is justified by more than just his personal numbers, which include leading the team in tackles three times this past season – he had 20 at Montana, 17 against Idaho State and 14 against Cal Poly – on his way to 79 total, 1.5 sacks, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass.New defensive coordinator Marty English and his tough-guy approach has a lot to do with it.English does not do media interviews.”Coach English preaches fireman mentality,” Nelson said. “You have to be tougher and more physical than the other guy.”English returned to UNC after stints at Wyoming and Colorado State.”Marty’s mentality about defense is similar to mine, and it’s a big plus,” UNC head coach Earnest Collins Jr. said when announcing the defensive coordinator’s return to where he played and previously coached.Nelson explained playing defense isn’t rocket science, repeating UNC’s mantra about every player contributing their 1/11th.”There’s coverages and of course there’s tweaks, but it’s about lining up and doing what you’re supposed to do,” Nelson said. “Every position has a read on every play. If you make your read, then you’re able to do your job.”Easier said than done.The Bears still are yielding just shy of 500 yards of total offense and opponents have scored an average of 30 points per game.This past week’s 43-28 loss at South Dakota certainly didn’t help the Bears’ numbers.”I’m not taking anything away from South Dakota’s quarterback (Austin Simmons), but there were times that I know we should have stopped him,” Nelson said.Arguably, Simmons – a double threat – may possess more athleticism than any quarterback the Bears will face this season. He was good for 462 passing yards and four touchdowns to go with 80 rushing yards against the Bears. He’s averaging 399.5 yards of total offense for the Coyotes through three games.By comparison, Sacramento State’s Kevin Thomson is more of a pocket passer who has 401 yards and just three touchdown passes through two games. He’s yet to throw an interception in the Coyotes’ balanced attack that also features a rushing attack that’s been good for 140.5 yards per week.”We still have confidence that we can stop this team,” Nelson insisted. “We’re well prepared and ready to execute to do what we need to do.”The numbers do say the Bears need to be more stingy up front, where none of the four starters – ends Nick Johnson and Keifer Morris along with defensive tackles Jean Desir or Brent Gilliland – are among the top five on the team in tackles.Strong safety Keifer Glau leads the team with 22 tackles, three more than Nelson. Defensive back Sherand Boyd Jr. has 17, followed by linebacker Henry Stelzner with 17 and defensive back Isaiah Swopes with nine. Stelzner has six tackles for losses totaling 17 yards.When asked if the defense guards against getting in a rut, Nelson quickly said, “No, not at all. We’ve done some great things the past two games.”We’re not even close to where we were last year. … We’re executing at a lot higher level. … We’re playing more as a team, we’re more physical and we’re tougher. Sure, we’d loved to have won those two games, but we haven’t even started conference games yet. We’re two weeks in and we feel good about where we’re at and we feel like we’re going to be good.”